The Following is a Statement from Zero Motorcycles’ CEO Sam Paschel On Harley-Davidson’s Investment in Alta and Entrance into the Electric Motorcycle Space:

“For the past 12 years, we have not just been selling motorcycles. We’ve been leading the movement and we’ve been helping to create the category of electric motorcycles. Competition is necessary for our category and the movement to grow. As the global leader in electric motorcycle sales and innovation, we welcome the challenge and believe our business will benefit from a respected brand entering the space. We have 12 years of R&D, manufacturing and sales experience that we will use to maintain our competitive advantage.”

15 Responses to “A Message From Zero Motorcycle’ CEO Sam Paschel”

This is what I meant when I said (about Harley and Alta), “Who needs who more?”

There are going to be plenty of contenders among electric motorcycle manufacturers. In my opinion, Harley is just going to be one of many, and with very little in the way of advantage over the others. It’s going to be a clean slate; younger buyers aren’t going to care about Harley’s legacy in this arena.

My strong feeling is that ZERO is not happy because not chosen by Harley and bought for a big chunk of money. Zero only understands the technology. The problem is their bikes are fugly Tell me about someone hesitating between a Zero and a EV Harley like the Livewire.. If not bought, Zero is gone in 3 to 5 years.

$13,995.00 +$2895.00 (Power Tank)= $16,890.00 for a Zero S that will go 138 miles combined city/hwy miles before needing a recharge (according to the manufacturer). That’s before you buy the first charging cord or pay sales tax. The old adage of you can make anything happen with money doesn’t seem to be true here. A Ninja 400 ABS at $5299.00 beats it like a drum.

I’m not a hater, I wish them luck and I’m open to an EV motorcycle. But to get me to bite it’s gonna have to do what a bargain bike will do, have all the features and only cost a little more; not triple more.

They claim battery technology is growing by leaps and bounds, perhaps 20% better each year. It will still take a lot longer before miles per charge can challenge internal combustion bikes. And then there is the cost…… . I like the concept but they still need to do better.

Hmmm… if battery technology is improving at a rate of 20% per year; range should double in 10 years or half that in 5. Your average day ride is usually under 200 miles so in less than 5 years we should see a decent ranged day rider. Then the question is only cost. The other consideration is value. If the batteries need replacing in 8-10 years at a cost of, oh, $2,000; that wouldn’t be a great value in the long run but probably a reliable value in the short run. Leasing may be an option on the condition batteries are covered by the leaser. Less expensive batteries would solve a lot of problems in this and solar battery banks.

Boomer, at 20% annual growth you get a little more than double every four years. Which seems about right. I demo’d a couple Zero’s a few years ago and range was much lower. I actually think range today isn’t much of an issue. Guys who say it is would never buy one anyway. I think most people in the market for a small, lightweight sporty motorcycle use it to commute, or playtime with buds after work. 150 miles is plenty of range for them. Same scenario for battery life. Most of us that have held on to a motorcycle for 8-10 years have already dumped a lot more than 2 grand into regular maintenance, repair, and rebuilds and that doesn’t include the extra cost of all the gas. In addition an 8-10 year life expectancy of today’s batteries is defined as retaining over 80% of its capacity. So a Zero bought today with a mixed use range of say 150 mikes might be degraded to a range of 120 miles in 2029. That seems like an advantage, you could continue to ride the bike without spending anymore money, you could replace the batteries with newer better ones, or you could buy a new bike. If your ten year old ICE engine needs a rebuild the option of continuing to ride it probably doesn’t exist.
The big issue I see for electrics is entering the market beyond lightweight sporty bikes. When you go from a 400 pound sport to an 800 lb touring cruiser you’re going to need a lot more motor which requires a lot more battery and this bike probably does NEED a >250 mile range with a 20 min recharge. I think we’re a ways off from seeing that.
But those demo’s I took on the Zero’s…wicked fun. Instant and flat torque is a blast.

The Harley buying public won’t go for a nimble, moped sized electric. They need a hugely powerful, overweight and ever so slightly dangerous monster that’s hard to control. A beast to prove your manhood with. Range and price would come in much later.

The more businesses that get into electric bikes the better the bike that is liable to be available for the consumer. No different than the original Auto industry or even the outboard motor industry. At one time there was over a hundred companies making each product and eventually it shook out to what we have today.